Misstep in Ankarria
by Ivycat
Summary: Lost, alone and afraid, Rose knew this could not be happening.Warning; non consensual implied. 9th Doctor ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Rose awoke that morning to the steady throbbing hum of TARDIS, she was not quite sure why she noticed it , over the months she had become accustomed to it and hardly heeded the background noise. For a moment she debated getting out of bed, she was in a 'mood' as her Mum would say. She felt grumpy and out of sorts with life in general, although there was no outstanding reason she could think of that she was feeling this way. a full twenty minutes passed while Rose tried to fall back asleep with no success.

Finally, she accepted the fact she would have to get out of bed some time, and pulled some clothes on.

Rose took a deep breath and stepped out of her room and headed down the hall.

She was feeling a little lonely this morning; not that wandering the galaxy with a semi-mad genius was isolating, she mused to herself sarcastically.

She walked into the central room where she found the doctor busy puttering away on his beloved ship.

"Ah! Good morning!" He beamed up at her from under the console.

"G' mornin'" Rose mumbled unenthusiastically. For just a moment Rose thought he would ask what was the matter, but in a flash he was back under the console banging and exhorting machinery with his sonic screwdriver,

"How about a nice trip to the Ankarrien system?" His muffled voice floated out from under the console, sounding hollow and tinny from the cramped, metallic confines he was in.

"Nice place, have not been in a while."

"Right, when do we arrive?" Rose asked.

"I don't know; I need to fix this little problem first. But after that we will be there in about, oh, seconds I think." He popped his head out and gave her his goofy grin.

"Okay, so I will be, um, back in my room unless you need help."

"Nope, I do not need help. I am perfectly able to fix this myself, thank you. You just go have fun."

Rose rolled her eyes

" Have fun." she mimicked sarcastically as she turned and slowly shuffled back to her room. Once there she looked morosely on her cluttered room, it needed a quick cleaning, but it was the last thing she wanted to do right then. She flopped down on her bed and stared at the colorless ceiling.

Hours later she was still in bed.

"This is ridiculous" She groaned to herself, she rolled out of bed and began to half heartedly clean up her room. Before she had gotten too involved in her cleaning the room lurched, then there was a familiar bumping that caused her to stagger slightly. Rose dropped her armful of clothes she was carrying to the hamper and headed out to the engine room where the Doctor was waiting.

"Hallo," He chirped brightly.

"Are you ready to go exploring once again?" Rose smiled and took a deep breath.

"Do I need to change clothes?"

"Nope, not the slightest need, unless you personally feel a need to freshen up, they have a lot of off world visitors here, great place really, a little keen on the patriarchal order, but not a bad planet over all, you will love the falls in the evening."

Still chattering inconsequentially, he grabbed her hand and tugged her after him as he stepped out of the TARDIS.

The first thing that struck Rose was how drab the planet seemed, it was dusty and chokingly hot. Not at all like she had expected, she had been hoping for a mild climate, and from the mention of water falls had expected more water than, well, none.

She looked at the Doctor in puzzlement; he tilted his head and looked around,

"Well this is not right!" He checked his watch and frowned.

"S' the matter? Wrong planet? Wrong time?"

"Wrong time, sort of."

"How is it a _sort of_ wrong time? It either is, or it isn't."

The Doctor looked momentarily annoyed then he dismissed her with a wave,

"You never mind Rose, just stay near me and let's do a bit of exploring, shall we?"

Rose pursed her lips in annoyance at the Doctors condescending attitude. For a moment she considered calling him on it, and then she decided that it was probably better to let it rest for the moment. Taking him to task was a dicey proposition at the best of times, and arguing with him when she was in a bad mood was just asking for disaster on her part.

In fact she could not recall ever once having come out on top in a verbal sparring match with him no matter what her mood, it was just more irritating to loose if she was already in a foul mood.

As they stepped away from the TARDIS Rose noticed that they seemed to be parked in the middle of ruins, well not ruins exactly, just a decaying, abandoned city.

Everywhere she looked there was evidence of what had once been a bustling metropolis, it strongly reminded her of ghost towns in the old west movies she and Mickey had gone to see together. Somehow it gave her a chill down her spine; she shivered in spite of the heat.

"Rose? You okay?" The Doctor asked looking at her sharply out of the corner of his eye, the shiver not having gone unnoticed.

"M' fine, just not, you know, the vacation spot I was prepared for."

"Well then, I would say that makes two of us!" He gave her his infectious grin, "Want to go find out what's going on here?"

The Doctor was looking around with the introspective gaze he always got when observing the unexpected. Rose looked over the barren place, she could see the heat waves shimmering in the not to distant horizon, but unlike earth the heat waves were slightly grey in color. For a moment Rose thought that she saw something, but then dismissed it as a mirage, then she glimpsed it again and this time the vague outlines became more distinct and formed a definite image.

Rose stretched out her arm "Look there, I think that is a city!"

He perked up immediately,

"Well then, that is where we need to be Rose Tyler, what are you waiting for?" Unfazed by the lung constricting heat, he clasped her hand and took off towards the city with his usual manic energy.

"Wait, Doctor, we are just going to leave the TARDIS here, why don't we land closer to the city?"

"Ah, hush your moanin'." he replied, but the affectionate smile he gave his companion took the sting out of his words.

"The walk will do you good, Rose, nothing like a brisk walk to get the blood flowing and improve ones mood." He finished slyly, letting her know her irritability had not gone unnoticed.

Forty five, long, hot, dusty minutes later Rose was fervently wishing that they had just used the TARDIS to get to the city, the heat was well nigh unbearable, not to mention her feet were killing her. She turned to her companion panting,

"It looked a lot closer back there."

The Doctor nodded, unfazed by the heat,

"I suspect it is the desert-like quality, tricks the eyes. But don't worry! We will be there soon, another half an hour or so should do the trick." He stopped short at the pitiful groan from his footsore companion. With a grin he slowed down and slid his arm through hers, offering her some support.

"When we get there you will love the kaxenberry juice! It is SO refreshing, after you have some, this walk will just seem a distant memory"

"It would take something a little stronger than juice in order to make me forget this walk." Rose mutterd under her breath, but not so softly that the keen ears of her compainion did not pick it up.

The Doctor slowed down and turned to her,

"Rose, do you need to stop a minute and rest?" Rose immediately stiffened up her back.

"No, I'm fine, great in fact, I just wore a new pair of shoes and they are rubbing blisters." She smiled brightly at him as she lied and took off at a brisker pace. There was no way she was going to let him think she was a weak little girl.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow as he looked at his companion as she walked away, his gaze lingered on her well worn trainers, but he said nothing.

True to his word an hour later they sat under a tree awning in the outskirts of the city sipping the syrupy berry drink.

"So why, um, do they all have…"

"Rainbow hair?" He helpfully supplied.

"Yeah."

"It's simple really; this species hair grows out a different color according to the food they eat."

"Really! Kind of like Mum's canary!"

"Sort of, a rather useful tool to tell someone's wealth, the brighter the colors and the amount of different colors they have means how wealthy they are."

Suddenly he bounced to his feet and slapped her on the back,

"Well, come on, let's get going!" Rose choked and coughed, as she nearly inhaled her drink.

"But I am not even half way through yet!" she protested.

"Then carry it with you! Come on, we do not have all day!" That said he took off his coat flapping behind him.  
"How in the world can you still wear that?" Rose panted trying to balance her drink as she wiped her forehead.

"'Cause,I like it, and besides , it gives me an air of mystery." He raised his eyebrow and gave her a cocky grin.

"Yeah, but aren't you hot?"

"Nope"

Rose shook her head and began to take in the sights.

"So where exactly are we going anyway?" Rose asked.

"Nowhere, anywhere, everywhere," The doctor tilted his head as he surveyed the city, there was a good deal of alien influence that was not here on the last visit, it was a puzzle, and he loved solving puzzles.

Rose enjoyed walking and looking at the town, but something seemed to be slightly odd.

It was not the looks that kept being given both them, nor the awe and respect that they treated the Doctor with after they saw her, it was something else, something that was almost sinister, menacing. For starters, there were no other women around, well, at least, no other females that she could recognize as such.

Finally Rose decided to speak up. "Do they think I am your slave?"

The Doctor frowned; he had not failed to notice the looks that were being given them, and the awe with which he was regarded, he also was feeling a prickling on the back of his neck, the one that usually signaled danger, the one that told him the wisest course of action was to turn around and head back to the TARDIS, the one he always ignored.

"The Ankarrien's do not own slaves, that is against there code of living. At least it was eight hundred years ago when I was last here."

"Well, maybe they changed the rules or sequestered them, The women I mean, or something, because these people do not seem accustomed to seeing a girl out with a bloke at all!"

The Doctor paused and looked around with his piercing glance.

He looked down at his companion who was standing just a tad closer than absolutely necessary.

"Do you want to go back Rose?"

Rose hesitated,

"No, I guess the fact that there are no other women out has me a bit jumpy, but let's keep going and find these falls you are so keen on, Okay?"

The Doctor rubbed his face, he had not really noticed it till she pointed it out, but Rose was right, there were no females of any species to be seen.

Something was not adding up, it seemed as if the answer was just beyond his grasp, it was annoying, and the Doctor did not like mysteries he could not solve.

They walked for another quarter of an hour till Rose stopped abruptly.

"What is that awful smell?" She wrinkled her nose. The Doctor stopped and sniffed,

"Kesmut! How did that come to be here? That is all wrong, very definitely all wrong!" His eyes narrowed.

"What is kesmut?" Rose asked.

"A drug, a very addictive, very potent, and only used by one species that I know of…"

Still sniffing he turned a corner then stopped short. They were confronted with a huge temple magnificently created out of a shimmering stone. But it was not the stone work or the beauty of the architecture that caught Rose's attention. It was the statues that adorned every possible place a statue could be placed. Rose raised her eyebrow; there was no way that what the figures were engaged in could be euphemized as 'dancing'.

The Doctor reeled back a pace, "Damn!" Still staring up at the temple he reached his arm behind him grasping for Rose to pull her close.

He did not find her,

"Rose. RUN!"

He turned, but Rose was gone.

**Preview Chapter Coming Soon!**

Rose felt a touch on her temples, firm yet feather light at the same time.

Suddenly her sight was obliterated by a dense brown cloud curtain that shimmered with golden light. There was a pressure in her head, like the beginnings of a migraine without the accompanying pain.

Confusion/fear/retreat, flooded over Rose's mind, her heart began to race and her breathing came short and fast as she instinctively, blindly tried to escape the invading presence. Then, quietly, unobtrusively, along with the pressure came a sensation of warmth/comfort/security. Somehow it calmed and embraced her, calming her for a moment.

Then, the creeping tendrils of the narcotic drug asserted herself over her once more and she started to slowly slip into a drug induced haze.

She lost track of everything as once more she descended into the stupor. But she felt herself being jerked out of the comfortable sleep by IT in her brain, what ever it was, Alarm/danger/flight was being urgently repeated to her, but she was too tired to respond and sank down into darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor spun around .

"ROSE!"

His voice was filled with a franticness that was foreign to his usual demeanor. He grabbed his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket quickly making adjustments to the tool, scanning for her bio signs. But it was no use; it was as if Rose had vanished into the air.

"No, No, no, no, no, this can't be happening!" he muttered to himself. His eyes grew darker; there was at once fierceness and a sorrow that seemed to consume him. But that quickly gave way to rage such as he had not known for many years, a terrible rage that seemed as if it would devour its host in its power. A light flickered in his eyes, and he remembered the first time he and his kind had dealt with this species. For a moment he could almost hear ancient sounds of war and the screams of innocents being slaughtered. In a rare moment of immmpotent uncertainty he ran his hand over his face.

There was no one around the temple, it had an eerie deserted look that was somehow chilling in its isolation, he turned and started off at full speed to the market he and Rose had just left. Once in, he ran to the first vendor, a fat paunchy man who selling brightly colored scarves. Without a moment's pause he hurled himself behind the counter yanking the man off the ground and pushing his face close to the hapless man's.

"How long have the Grabbianes been here on this planet?" He demanded,

"Tell me!" He shook the man for added emphasis causing the vendors chin to jiggle and shake from the rough handling.

"I, I….I, I think about one hundred and twelve years, most honored sir." The vendor fawned, his eyes darting back and forth under heavy lids.

"Why were they allowed to stay?" Did no one resist?" The Doctor was speaking in a more measured tone, but the man was wise enough to not mistake that as a lessening of the peril he was in. The vendor squirmed,

"Well, they did not invade us exactly, sir, they simply came and offered us a chance to join there culture. And some of us, not necessarily me, You see ,all of this came about quite a long time ago, I was but a stripling then… thought it would progress us to accept."

"And by 'culture' I would assume you are referring to their religion." The Doctor snapped, shaking him once more.

"Ye, yes", the man wheezed eyes darting back and forth as he looked for help from the passersby, but those who did happen to notice the vendor being shaken like a puppet quickly averted their eyes and hurried off. Abruptly dropping him to the ground the Doctor turned on him

"And you accept this like stupid volec cattle? Your entire civilization? No one stood up and tried to reason with you?"

The man backed up, terror clearly written over his moist face,

"It is a most popular religion now; most honored one" The Doctor fastened him with a look that could probably have frozen water. He continued to stare at him in contempt for a moment then he turned abruptly away.

"I will be back shortly, you will remain here till I return, is that understood?" The vendor nodded eagerly, although in truth there was nothing more he would liked to have done than to run to the galaxies end to escape this man with the condemnation of a thousand innocent souls in his eyes.

Once the Doctor was out of sight the man ran as fast as he could to the north end of town; his bright multi-colored hair streaming in the wind. He never bothered to close his stall.

Taking off at a run the Doctor retraced his steps to where he had lost Rose, only this time he kept going right up to the steps of the temple, never pausing, he ascended the stairs two at a time, his coat flapping behind him. All at once, his way was blocked by two beautiful young women, priestess he imagined from the look of them.

"We are here to serve you, Sir, will you be praying in the temple today?" They intoned in harmony, their all but transparent shifts fluttering in the breeze.

"Ah, no, not today I am afraid, I just came looking for a friend of mine, well more of a traveling companion really, short, one toned hair, not from around here at all I am afraid, and I guess she wandered off. SO; if you young ladies do not mind I will just have a look around till I find her. Thank you!" He turned abruptly and stepped around the pair in spite of their efforts to detain him, but soon they were distracted by another man coming up the stairs. Almost in unison they turned.

"We are here to serve you Sir, will you be praying in the temple today?…"

He discreetly took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the area, there were many curtained alcoves and vast halls, scowling in frustration he slid the screwdriver into his pocket.

The Doctor quickly slipped behind a curtain and strode down the hall it concealed; it was strangely deserted, his footsteps echoing eerily in the stone halls. Then as he walked farther into the interior he became aware of a sound that set his teeth on edge and his heart racing. The rage began to bubble up inside of him again, He reached for the curtain to pull it back but suddenly a soft hand was laid on his. He wheeled to face the unknown person, all senses alert.

"NO! You must not! They will kill you!" it was one of the girls who had accosted him at the entrance of the temple. Her eyes were wide with fright. She leaned in close to his ear,

"They do not take the new ones here, there is another temple on the other end of town towards the north." Then as silently as she came she flitted off, leaving behind wafts of her perfume, intermingled with the sour, unpleasant odor of fear.

The Doctor straightened up with a thoughtful look on his face. He knew he had to get to Rose as soon as possible but it seemed wrong to leave … He turned away, Rose first, and then he would come back and deal with this.

He turned and strode out of the temple heading back to the market to see the scarf vender. Perhaps not surprisingly there was no sign of the seller. Thinning his lips he turned to a passerby.

"Could you give me directions to the temple on the other side of the town?"

The man was very obliging and gave detailed directions, then sent him off with a knowing smile that made the Doctor want to hurl him onto the street.

Muttering imprecations under his breath at himself for getting Rose involved in this, and at the inhabitants of the planet for embracing such a religion, he set off. He knew they were not the most enlightened race, but still, to allow such a thing to come, to embrace it so welcomingly was nauseating to the Doctor. He sternly surveyed the horizon, then went towards the temple.

OoOo

Rose fought and struggled against the hands that held her, she tried to call out to the Doctor but a wet cloth saturated in the horrible smell she had just noticed was pressed against her face. She gagged and choked, then felt a tingling as she was caught in a transport beam.

When she next woke up she was laying on the cold floor of a cell,

"This is just great!" she thought to herself. She attempted to sit up, but found she was still under the influence of the drug and did not yet have motor control of her body.

"Doctor!" she cried, Or rather tried to, it came out sounding more like "Guujim!" Rose blinked in surprise and tried again,

"Doctor! Can you hear me?" But it sounded more like the grunts of an infant than intelligible human speech.

Lying there, helpless, unable to communicate, unable to move, fear began to overtake her; in horror she realized she was naked. Tears sprang to her eyes, and rolled off the side of her face, she could not wipe them away.

The sun slowly traveled through the window of the cell, when it got to where Rose lay she welcomed it at first, the warmth was a relief to the chill of the stones, but soon discomfort began to set in, the sun was very hot, about twice the intensity of Earth she guessed, it began to burn and redden her exposed skin, but she still could not move to avoid it. She began to be aware of her heart beating faster, and her mouth getting parched, she was getting dangerously overheated she realized, "_Where is the Doctor? Is he in the same predicament as I am? Where is he? What is taking so long for him to come? Where am I why can't I speak?_" All these thought came crashing down on her. In one last attempt to find the Doctor she summoned all of her strength and called out

"Goktuewr!!" But her cry just echoed and bounced around the room till it died.

Then in the distance she heard the faint sound of feet approaching, they were a way off, it took some time for them to near her, her heart raced, she was so happy hear the Doctor she almost did not mind the fact she was stark naked.

There was a clanking as the barred door was opened. Rose's eyes welled with relief, then in a moment was replaced with desolation, it was not the Doctor, it was two Ankarrians, they looked at her doubtfully, talking among themselves in a low tone, then one of them reached down and touched her, with all her heart she wished she could jump up and rip their heart out, or at least watch as the Doctor did. Her thoughts were interrupted by each of the men grabbing a arm and pulling her to her feet, well at least to a sort of standing position, her legs were still no bloody good, they drug her to a room then the next thing she knew she was being showered with buckets of cold water,

"AIE!, What du you thing you arr doig?" She shouted. They paid her no attention, still dousing her with the icy water. Realizing she was recovering more of her speech she began to hurl imperfectly articulated abuse on their heads, but either they did not understand, or they did not care. Then when she was shaking with the cold they returned her to her cell and dropped her on the floor. There was a cup of water on the floor and Rose was able to wriggle over to it and pick it up, but when she clutched the cup to bring it to her lips, her hands shook so much that she spilled most of it down her front .

Rose scowled in frustration, she was so thirsty! She desperately wished that the Doctor would hurry up and come and get her, she was beginning to be seriously freaked out now. At least she was able to sit and talk now, Rose reflected, in about half an hour she should be able to get up and walk. That was when she would start looking for a way to get out of this nightmare and find the Doctor. Her thoughts were still muddled, it was hard to think things through properly. It was like her head was stuffed with cotton candy, all airy and sticky someway.

She could only guess at the motive for snatching her, and the fact she was unclothed only added to her speculation. The fact that that they reacted to her becoming overheated was comforting, it indicated some sort of care for her well being. But as what? Some sort of slave? She would rather die, and if she was put into such a position she would rather take her life than endure that; suddenly filled with panic she staggered to her feet and began to shake the bars. They looked solid enough, but one could never tell, she reflected. Maybe if she made enough noise the Doctor would hear her.

"Hey! HELP! " She started shouting at the top of her lungs.

There was a scraping sound as the door behind her was opened, she wheeled quickly, but not quickly enough, the same strong chemical smell as when she was first abducted filled her nostrils, then everything went blank.

Her head hurt. The horrible smell was everywhere; it was burning her lungs and causing her eyes to water. There was no way she could move, opening her eyes took all the concentration she could muster. There was the sound of low chanting, somewhere an instrument was playing. Rose struggled to move but it was just too hard, she could tell that she seemed to be lying on a soft bed of some kind, and was covered with a cloth. Rose lay there for an interminable amount of time, this time the effects of the drug did not decrease, if anything it got worse at times causing her to fade out numerous times, and every time she woke up the maddening drone of chanting still continued in the background.

Then things began to distort and twist around her, she was in her room, but somehow she could not get out of bed, she heard her mother's screams as the plastic manikins came to life and attacked her, she struggled to get out of bed but it was no use she could only listen as her Mum screamed, then grew silent. Then she was in the basement as a stranger told her to run, but instead of running she decided to do a bit of last minute tidying and put away some shirts, her body dissolved into a mist as the building exploded. Then she was in the middle of a freeway trying to cross, but kept being hit by cars, getting up, then knocked down again, she finally made her way to the other side and asked if she could get cleaned up at a chip shop, the tall thin man looked at her superciliously down his nose,

"I don't do domestic" he snapped and slammed the door. There was a girl screaming. She would not be quiet, it bothered Rose intensely.

Then she was standing, no braced, against a wall, her face grinding into the wood. She felt sick. She was in a dark room crying, alone yet not, sobbing her anguish, as Jack stood over her with a vacant burning in his eyes. Then came the time when there was nothing, nothing except for the burning fumes and pain, and the moaning that never quit.

An eternity passed this way. Rose had decided to just give up the fight; she knew it would be better for all concerned if she stopped fighting.

She did.

That was the period of time where she actually escaped her body and all the torments it put her through. She seemed to float above herself, looking down with some pity and a little irritation at the immobile figure.

Then, in the very edge of her drug clouded conscienceless something began to happen, there was a lessening of the horror of the nightmares, and something else began to assert its self into her mind, the odd thing was, it was not her, she knew it, but at the same time she knew it could not be anyone but her, it was her head after all.

She gradually began to come back to herself, possessing her body. She resisted it, fighting desperately to go back, but, slowly, pitilessly she was pulled toward awareness. With a gasp she opened her eyes and looked around her, it was dark, very dark, she was filled with fear, which was odd, and since she was sure she had been in the dark for a very long time. She opened her mouth to cry out, but somehow could not. There was another person in the room with her. Rose was filled with a unreasoning dread of the presence.

Rose felt a touch on her temples, firm, yet feather light at the same time.

Suddenly her sight was obliterated by a dense brown cloud curtain that shimmered with golden light, replacing the thick darkness.

There was a pressure inside her head, like the beginnings of a migraine without the accompanying pain.

Confusion/fear/retreat, flooded over Rose's mind, her heart began to race and her breathing came short and fast as she instinctively, blindly, tried to escape the invading presence. Then, quietly, unobtrusively, along with the pressure came a sensation of warmth/comfort/security. Somehow it calmed and embraced her, soothing her for a moment.

Then, the creeping tendrils of the narcotic drug asserted herself over her once more and she started to slowly slip into the drug induced haze.

She lost track of everything as once more she descended into the stupor. But she felt herself being jerked out of the haze by IT in her brain, whatever it was, Alarm/danger/flight was being urgently repeated to her, but she was too tired to respond and sank down towards darkness.

Then it seemed as if she was receiving support from someone, she was being helped to evade the darkness that consumed her. Support/Reassurance/Rest enveloped her. Then for the first time in what seemed to her to be millennia, Rose slept a natural sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose stirred, blinking from the harsh light that shown down on her, she made a half hearted attempt to turn away, but in the end decided that it was easier to just remain as she was and endure the light. Then a shadow blotted out the light as a figure bent over her, It was a familiar shape, one that she would have been able to recognize anywhere.

"Doctor?" she questioned, frowning as she began to realize how uncomfortable she felt.

"Right here." Came the immediate response.

"I feel awful, what happened? Where are we at?" Rose tried to look around, but her vision was blurry and unfocused, almost as if she was under water.

"Oh my God, I am not going blind or somethin' am I?"

"Hush, Rose, hush, it will be alright." She could hear a slight whirring as a scanner of some sort was moved about her head. This was a bit odd, she could not remember hearing the Doctor sounding quite like this before, there was such a strange quality about his voice.

"You should have full vision in a few hours, more or less I think, how are you feeling?"

The voice was tense, anxious; this was most definably not the Doctor she knew. Not to mention the fact that he had just asked her how she was feeling when she just stated that she felt like crap.

"What's the matter, are you alright, Doctor?"

"Never mind me, Rose Tyler, I asked how you were feeling."

She frowned, she was feeling a bit muzzy, and had a headache that could have floored even the most hardened of drinkers, she was sure.

"Head hurts, really hurts, what happened?"

There was a long pause, till Rose began to wonder if she were alone in the room.

"Doctor?"

"Right here, Rose,I'm right here." then suddenly to her surprise she felt her hand being taken in a warm firm grasp.

She tried to turn her head to look at him, but all she could see was an outline, a shadowy figure that must be her Doctor.

"I feel weird," she paused a second, but the strange feelings in her head intensified by the second, nausea, disorientation, and a growing conviction that something was very wrong caused her respiration to rise.

Aruptly she shook her hand free of the clasp, for some reason she could not stand being touched. But why? this was not making any sence to her.

Then the panic set in, blind unreasoning panic that caused her to ignore the dizziness and slide off of the stretcher she was on.

"Rose! Stop, it is going to be alright, Rose can you hear me?"

But she was too far gone, lapsed back into the throws of drug induced terror to heed him; her eyes were wild and uncomprehending.

"I have to get away, I have to get out of here!" she gasped as she blindly staggered towards the wall, believing she was heading to the door.

Her knees were wobbly, making it hard to run, she noticed, but she still knew she had to get away; something too awful for words was pursuing her. Then she was grasped from behind, felt herself being lifted, born off to the unknown terror.

A shriek of terror came from the girl, she tried to struggle, to fight, but lethargy twined its self around her limbs, rendering her struggles ineffectual.

The grasp was unrelenting, and did not even let up when she was lifted to a hard surface and laid down; tears began to trickle down Rose's face,

"Please, not again." She pleaded, then there was a sudden stinging on her arm, she slid deeper into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

"_My wild, sweet Rose, so precious to me. I took her out of her mundane life as a shop girl and showed her the world and all it had to offer, the universe and all its glories. But deep down I knew the truth; it was not altruism on my part, rather it was a desperate search for an anchor in my life, a point of stability, a purpose to my wild unfettered course across the galaxies._

_I found it in Rose, just a girl, but yet so much more than that to me. To me she was a savior, redeeming me by her enthusiasm and eager exploration of all I had to show. She constantly demonstrated me that life was indeed worth living, and that there was hope and goodness in the universe._

_She gave me an escape from my darkest thoughts and most abhorred parts of myself. _

_Yes, she was a companion, but she had become a friend, someone who rescued me from the enormous guilt and loneliness I had created for myself. _

_Yet, for all this, this is what happened to her._

_It seemed to me I blazed a brilliant path across the stars, but the unseen price, the consequence, was in the wake of the meteor of our travels, was a darkness that pursued no matter how I tried to evade it, no matter how far I traveled to escape from it. It was the dust and ashes of destruction, which all too often reached out and consumed my companions._

_This was the price my companions paid for being with me, and till now I thought it could be ignored, written off as just bad luck ,or perhaps an adventure that we had, but inside, deep inside, I always knew that it was a darker, more sinister thing._

_This had to stop now. It stopped with Rose; it would end here, for no longer could I countenance the suffering I inevitably caused._

_I feel bereft at the thought of losing her. I do not know what I will do without her before me every day. I never realized till now, I did not see it, I can't believe it, but this scrawny human has affected me in a way I may never be able to forget._

_Destruction and death are to be my closest companions again. They always followed close at my heels, and the actions I took on Ankarria further illustrated that._

_But first, I must repair the damage done, to try and restore the ridulously frail and silly human body. But that is the easy part. Of the most concern to me was how to heal the mind, the delicate, limited organ that was so difficult to repair._

_Once that is fully accomplished, and I have ameliorated the hurt done, I will return her to her mother, Mickey, back to safety, earth and a normal life, and then may it be that I no longer cause hurt to those I love._

_I was supposed to be a protector, able to save and help, yet this time I was the one who had needed help, and she had come through magnificently, time after time._

_I will be left with nothing but the memories."_

The Doctor took a deep breath. It was no time for brooding; the short acting sedative would start losing its effect soon, and there were bones to be knitted back, soft tissue to repair, a myriad of problems that needed attention, but fortunately for him, they were not hard to fix.

He turned his attention to a tray of instruments, commencing his ministrations. He still could not believe that he did not spot the warning signs sooner: all the clues were right there almost as soon as he landed on the planet, even Rose had managed to sense that there was something very wrong, but no, he had to keep on, eager to solve this new puzzle, well, this puzzle had turned to have a near deadly solution.

As He worked over the girl, his hands were gentle, and his eyes were full of compassion and deep sorrow. This was something he never got used to, hoped never to get used to.

After finishing his work on Rose he pulled up a chair and sat down close beside her, watching her intently for signs of returning consciousness.

While on his vigil he wracked his brain for all the information on kesmut and its effects, trying to form a hypothesis on how it would affect a human.

The conclusions were far from promising, but then there was really nothing to do but wait and see what was to come.

Then as his thoughts wandered to the events that transpired after he had left the vendor, his eyes darkened a shade, his lips thinned. He had not shown any mercy that time; it was retribution, pure and simple, a summery, swift dealing of justice. He was glad Rose was not aware of his actions, for she would surely have shrunk from seeing that side of him…

His train of thought was broken as he detected a change in Rose's breathing that indicated a return to consciousness.

He hastily stood up and bent over her intently.

"Rose?" Rose, can you hear me? It's the Doctor."

There was no response, but he could tell that she was aware of him; her breathing patterns had confirmed that.

"Rose, come on now, you need to wake up. Come on now, Rose, you can do this!"

With him alternately coaxing and commanding, she at last responded.

There was a flickering of her eye lids, then, slowly, almost as if she were reluctant to come to consciousness, she opened her eyes.

If he lived a thousand life times, he would never be able to forget the look of mute reproach Rose gave him when she first opened her eyes.

It was as if he had returned a wild animal back to the cage it thought it had escaped from.

But all she said was: "Doctor…?"

He bent over her and in an uncharacteristically tender gesture, brushed the side of her face with his hand.

"Right here. Rose, I'm right here."


End file.
